Love beyond the mask (Whitney) novel Chapter 483

Here's the revised version of the translated text:

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Luke gritted his teeth against the stabbing pain, not letting out a sound. He forced himself to stand, positioning his body in front of hers to fight off the three thugs.

But the wound was too deep.

Within minutes, his strength waned under the assault, and the thugs knocked him down, pulling the knife from his body with intentions of striking again.

Whitney, fueled by desperation, scrambled to her feet and grabbed a torch, charging at them. "Back off! Or I swear I'll burn this place down and take us all with it!"

The masked intruders exchanged wary glances. Clearly, their plans had gone awry thanks to this man's intervention.

Taking Whitney now would only draw unwanted attention.

The best move was to flee before the cops showed up.

Casting a glance at Whitney, who was menacingly igniting the torch with alcohol, they dropped their weapons and ran.

Trembling, Whitney held the torch aloft until she reached a dry patch of floor, then stomped it out.

Catching her breath, she turned to see Luke's towering frame crumpled on the ground, his leg drawn up, shaking from pain.

Her heart raced with complex emotions as she saw his blood staining the floor, her panic rising.

Without a word, she helped him up and they made for the basement door.

"It's locked..." Luke gasped, hearing the sound of chains.

Whitney tried to shake the iron door, but a heavy chain held it shut.

"How did you get in?"

"There were three doors. When I came in, only the first was locked. They must've locked the others on their way out."